HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/26/23

September 26th, 2023 at 8:28pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: S A.J. Finley

New England Patriots

  • Released: CB William Hooper

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Geron Christian is back in Houston for his second stint with the team, as the lineman started eight of his 14 appearances for the Texans in 2021. The former Washington third-round pick spent the 2022 campaign with the Chiefs, where he mostly played on special teams in his 10 games.

A pair of notable running backs found jobs today. Deon Jackson joined the Browns practice squad after getting cut by the Colts last week. The RB started Week 1 for Indy, and he ultimately finished his stint with the team having collected 504 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in 27 games. Meanwhile, Jeremy McNichols is heading to San Francisco after having spent the past two seasons as one of Derrick Henry‘s backups. The former fifth-round pick got into 30 games between 2021 and 2022, collecting 655 yards from scrimmage.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/26/23

September 26th, 2023 at 8:12pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

The Chargers officially placed Mike Williams on injured reserve today, opening a roster spot. The front office didn’t take long filling his spot on the depth chart, snagging receiver Simi Fehoko from Pittsburgh’s practice squad. The former fifth-round pick spent the first two seasons of his career with the Cowboys, where he hauled in three catches in 10 games. The Stanford product also had a significant role on special teams during his time in Dallas.

Roy Lopez looked to be entrenched in Houston’s defense for the foreseeable future, with the former sixth-round pick starting 29 of his 33 appearances between 2021 and 2022. However, after collecting only 67 tackles and two sacks across those two seasons, he was waived/injured by the Texans at the end of the preseason. The defensive lineman caught on with Arizona’s practice squad late last week.

Patriots Place DT Daniel Ekuale On IR

September 26th, 2023 at 7:24pm CST by Ben Levine

After suffering an injury during Sunday’s win over the Jets, Patriots defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale will miss at least a month. The team announced that they’ve placed the defensive lineman on injured reserve. According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Ekuale tore his biceps, an injury that will keep him off the field for at least four games.

After bouncing between the Browns and Jaguars to begin his career, Ekuale has found a home in New England in recent years. After getting into seven games with the Patriots in 2021, Ekuale appeared in 15 games for the team in 2022, getting into about one third of the team’s defensive snaps. The defensive tackle ultimately finished last season with 14 tackles and a pair of sacks.

Through the first three games of the 2023 season, Ekuale was seeing a similar role as he did in 2022. Pro Football Focus currently has the defensive tackle graded 50th among 128 qualifying interior defenders, although the site did give him a top-20 grade for his run defense.

Fortunately for the Patriots, the team isn’t in desperate need for defensive line help. Davon Godchaux and Lawrence Guy will continue to soak up most of the snaps in the middle of the defensive line, and the team could get creative with Christian Barmore. Sam Roberts also saw a bump in snaps once Ekuale exited Sunday’s game.

Panthers S Xavier Woods To Miss “Extended Time”

September 26th, 2023 at 6:13pm CST by Ben Levine

The Panthers are down another key defensive back. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, safety Xavier Woods is set to miss “extended time” while recovering from a hamstring injury.

[RELATED: Panthers To Place CB Jaycee Horn On IR]

It’s uncertain exactly how much time Woods will miss, but a source told Fowler that the safety could be sidelined for four-to-six weeks. Woods has generally stayed healthy during his career, missing a total of six regular season games through his first six seasons in the league.

The former Cowboys sixth-round pick turned into a reliable starting safety during his time in Dallas, starting all 44 of his appearances between 2018 and 2020. Woods joined the Vikings for the 2021 campaign and proceeded to have a career year, finishing with a career-high 108 tackles, 10 passes defended, and three interceptions.

That performance earned the safety a three-year, $15.75MM deal from the Panthers during the 2022 offseason. Woods started all 15 of his appearances during his first season in Carolina, finishing with 86 tackles. He also started the Panthers’ first three games of the 2023 campaign, with Pro Football Focus grading him as the eighth-best safety among 85 qualifying players.

This is a tough break for a Panthers secondary that recently lost cornerback Jaycee Horn to a hamstring injury. That issue ultimately landed the starter on injured reserve. The team will have to dig deeper into their secondary depth with Woods set to miss time. Rookie fifth-round pick Jammie Robinson and UDFA D’Shawn Jamison round out the safeties depth chart behind Woods and Donte Jackson.

Latest On Raiders, Chandler Jones

September 26th, 2023 at 4:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders-Chandler Jones saga continues to unfold, and the veteran edge rusher said he has attempted to reach out to the team about why he is not presently permitted to play. Residing on the reserve/non-football illness list, Jones said he has tried to contact GM Dave Ziegler to no avail.

This turbulent month for the Raiders and their 2022 free agency acquisition has now involved Jones indicating he has been hospitalized. The 33-year-old defender wrote Monday night that the Las Vegas Fire Department officials transported him to the hospital “against my will,” according to ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez.

Jones social media posts, which have catalyzed his on-field hiatus, indicated he was transferred from the hospital to Seven Hills Behavioral Health Hospital last week. He said between five and seven Las Vegas Fire Department officials came to his home to inform him he was being placed on a “court hold” by the Las Vegas Police Department.

The former Patriots and Cardinals standout also wrote that the staff at the behavioral hospital “tried to force me to take meds & injections.” Jones also indicated the reasoning behind his alleged hospitalization came about because of his online activity.

“I haven’t done anything wrong,” Jones said, via Gutierrez. “The police said people were concerned about me because of my posts online. I’m still confused on what I did wrong. I’m stuck here. I’m very sane. I’m to strong of a person to be mentally broken [sic].”

The Raiders placed Jones on the reserve/NFI list last week, moving him off the 53-man roster. While the team is open to activating Jones if the situation improves, it does not seem likely that will transpire in the near future. Jones also said he called Ziegler at least six times after being hospitalized, adding that he “wondered if [Ziegler] had me put in here, but he never answered.” The Raiders have classified this a private matter.

An incident involving Jones being locked out of the Raiders’ facility in early September, leading to him conducting a workout at a public gym, marked the beginning of his tirade against the team and its top staffers. Jones said he no longer wanted to play for the Raiders as long as Ziegler and Josh McDaniels were in charge. The $17MM-per-year pass rusher also said the Raiders sent a crisis team to his house not long after the initial round of posts. Recently, Jones added to this bizarre dust-up by saying owner Mark Davis is “holding a huge secret.” Raider players and others around the league have expressed concern for Jones’ health. The 11-year veteran has not practiced with the Raiders since the locked-door incident.

Jones signed a three-year, $51MM deal with the Raiders in March 2022. The team is not obligated to pay the former All-Pro while he is on the reserve/NFI list, but an offseason restructure converted most of his salary into a signing bonus. Jones is only tied to a $1.17MM base salary this season.

Falcons Place LB Troy Andersen On IR

September 26th, 2023 at 3:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Falcons will be without one of their starting linebackers for a while. Troy Andersen is headed to IR, the team announced. The 2022 second-round pick has run into multiple health issues to start his second season.

After missing Week 2 with a concussion, Andersen returned to action against the Lions. But he has encountered shoulder and pectoral injuries. Indicating Andersen’s injury “didn’t look good,” Arthur Smith said a potential season-ending IR stay could be on tap. An MRI confirmed a severe injury, per the team website. It is not known if Andersen suffered a torn pec, an injury that would sideline him for the rest of the season.

Although teams have eight IR activations to use in-season, Andersen may not factor into this roster math. Andersen went down during the fourth quarter of the Falcons’ Week 3 loss to the Lions. Nate Landman, a 2022 UDFA, stepped in for Andersen.

Arriving as last year’s No. 58 overall pick, the Montana State alum joined a Falcons team with a crowded linebacker group last year. Despite Foye Oluokun‘s defection to Jacksonville, Atlanta still rostered a host of veterans — Deion Jones, Rashaan Evans and Nick Kwiatkoski — along with Mykal Walker. The Falcons overhauled their linebacking corps upon hiring Ryan Nielsen as defensive coordinator. Jones, Evans, Kwiatkoski and Walker are all elsewhere, with ex-Saint Kaden Elliss added to anchor the team’s linebacking corps.

Playing behind the likes of Walker and Evans last season, Andersen did make five starts as a rookie. The Division I-FCS product notched 69 tackles (three for loss) last season, forcing a fumble. He started alongside Elliss to open this season. A Colorado alum, Landman played in 10 games as a rookie. After logging just 22 defensive snaps throughout his first season, Landman has already been on the field for 57 this year. He started in place of Andersen in Week 2 and looks to continue in that capacity moving forward. Sixth-year veteran Tae Davis sits as the other Falcons backup inside ‘backer. The Falcons have Andre Smith and Milo Eifler as their practice squad ILBs.

Falcons Sign T Storm Norton Off Saints’ Practice Squad

September 26th, 2023 at 3:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Storm Norton spent the past six months with the Saints, signing with the team in March and ending up on its practice squad. But an intra-NFC South transaction will send him to New Orleans’ top rival.

The Falcons are signing Norton off the Saints’ P-squad, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo. Atlanta will be the veteran tackle’s sixth NFL destination. He is best known for a Chargers tenure that spanned from 2020-22.

Because they are poaching Norton off another team’s practice squad, the Falcons must keep the seventh-year blocker on their active roster for at least three weeks. Norton spent the past three seasons on the Chargers’ 53-man roster, working as a starter for most of the 2021 campaign. Norton, 28, started 15 games for the Bolts that year, beating out Trey Pipkins for the team’s right tackle job. Pipkins, however, won the following year’s competition to lead Norton to a backup role. The Chargers let Norton walk in free agency this offseason, re-signing Pipkins on a three-year, $21.75MM deal.

Norton, a 2017 UDFA, will join a Falcons team housing entrenched starters at tackle — in Jake Matthews and Kaleb McGary — and one that rosters Isaiah Prince as its swingman. Prince, however, was inactive for the Falcons’ Week 3 game against the Lions.

A Toledo alum, Norton has journeyed to Detroit, Arizona, Minnesota, Los Angeles and New Orleans over the first seven years of his career. He only played in one game over his first three seasons — a 2018 cameo with the Vikings — but worked his way up the ladder in L.A. Norton will now have a chance to make an impression as a Falcons backup.

Anthony Richardson To Remain Colts’ Starter Upon Return

September 26th, 2023 at 10:26am CST by Adam La Rose

The Colts picked up their second straight win in Week 3 despite having Gardner Minshew under center. The team’s backup signal-caller will retain that position on the depth chart once Anthony Richardson clears concussion protocol.

Richardson exited Indianapolis’ Week 2 game against the Texans after being removed due to the hit he suffered while scoring his second rushing touchdown of the contest. He remains in concussion protocol for now, and head coach Shane Steichen did not say for certain whether Richardson or starting center Ryan Kelly would be able to practice on Wednesday. Presuming the former is able to do so, though, his starting gig will await him come Week 4.

“Anthony is our guy,” Steichen said, via Akeem Glaspie of the Indy Star. “[Richardson’s] our starting quarterback, but going back to Gardner, a ton of respect for Gardner and what he does on a week in and week out basis. When he goes in, he operates at a high level and couldn’t be more thankful that he’s here and what he’s done for this football team.”

Given the Colts’ decision to anoint Richardson the starter after just one preseason contest, Steichen’s remarks come as little surprise. The No. 4 pick was tapped as a candidate to see immediate playing time as a rookie (just like Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, the two passers selected ahead of him), and his success on the ground in particular – 5.8 yards per carry, three touchdowns – has earned him a continued look as a first-teamer when healthy.

On the other hand, Minshew has been efficient in his time filling in for Richardson and his Week 3 start. The 27-year-old has posted a 66.7% completion percentage while throwing a pair of touchdowns with no interceptions. Targeted by the Colts in part for his Eagles connection to Steichen, Minshew represents a high-floor backup option to Richardson, as he has already demonstrated in the early going of the 2023 campaign.

Richardson’s participation in practice in the coming days will be worth watching closely, but for now he should be expected to clear the protocol in time for Week 4 against the Rams on Sunday. As long as he is available, he will return to his starting duties while Minshew is relegated back to his QB2 role.

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell Addresses Turnover Issues

September 26th, 2023 at 8:56am CST by Adam La Rose

The Vikings sit at 0-3 in large part due to the team’s struggles with ball security. Minnesota leads the league in turnovers, and lineup changes could be coming soon as a result.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins has thrown a pair of interceptions – including one in the end zone in the losing stages of Sunday’s loss to the the Chargers – but the more troubling early trend has been the Vikings’ league-leading seven fumbles. Head coach Kevin O’Connell admitted he altered the team’s practice routine in the build-up to Week 3, but ball security remains an issue. In the aftermath of that contest, he issued a warning that players could find themselves on the bench in the near future.

“I think that’s something we’re going to fix one way or the other,” O’Connell said of the fumbling problems, via ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. “Either guys are going to [fix] it or we’re going to have to put other guys in the game that have ball security.”

Running back Alexander Mattison has been among the players who have lost a number of fumbles (although only one so far has resulted in a change of possession). The 25-year-old assumed lead back duties in the wake of Dalvin Cook‘s release, and he is currently averaging a career-high 13 carries per game. Mattison has recorded 155 scoreless yards on the ground, along with one touchdown in the passing game.

Minnesota’s struggles on the ground made it little surprise that the team added Cam Akers via trade. In spite of his arrival, Mattison has received a vote of confidence as the Vikings’ lead back, though Akers did not suit up in Week 3. The latter will however be involved in the team’s game plan for Week 4, Seifert notes. It will be interesting to see how the Vikings divvy up their RB snaps, particularly if ball security remains an issue.

Aside from Mattison, other skill position players could now be on notice in advance of Minnesota’s game against Carolina. That matchup of winless teams will be important in the NFC standings, but it could also play a part in dictating playing time moving forward in the Vikings’ case.

Lions Targeting Jared Goff Extension?

September 25th, 2023 at 10:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Rams making Jared Goff the NFL’s second-highest-paid player in September 2019 ended up benefiting the Lions, who capitalized on the former No. 1 overall pick’s depressed value barely 16 months later. Agreeing to take on Goff’s $33.5MM-per-year contract led to the Lions picking up an extra first-round pick in the January 2021 Matthew Stafford trade.

Detroit has kept Goff on that 2019 extension; the former Super Bowl starter is the only QB still attached to a deal agreed to during the 2010s. Extension rumors have circulated this year. Goff’s camp was believed to be targeting a new deal, and the Lions were reported to be engaging in dialogue on an updated contract. While this would be an interesting deal to complete, one GM told the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora the Lions want to extend Goff, whose contract has fallen to 16th at the position.

Completing a Goff extension might be trickier for the Lions than it was for the Rams. In 2019, the Super Bowl LIII starter was viewed as an ascending talent going into his age-25 season. He had come off two straight quality seasons under Sean McVay, and while the Cal product was not viewed as necessarily a top-tier starter, he was seen as a rising player coming into his prime. Goff did not live up to that deal in Los Angeles and saw a midcareer regression lead him to Detroit, where he struggled in 2021. Early in his age-29 season, however, Goff is in a much better place — as the unquestioned starter for a team that has constructed an atypical rebuild around him.

Not taking the route most rebuilding teams have, the Lions have never enjoyed a modern rookie-QB contract. Stafford’s was signed during the 2006 CBA’s duration; that agreement doubled as the last before the slot system changed NFL roster building. Stafford signed a six-year, $72MM deal upon being chosen No. 1 overall in 2009. By comparison, Bryce Young is only attached to a four-year, $37.9MM accord.

The Lions still managed to build up their roster around Goff, thanks to the picks the Rams provided and the QB market igniting during the early 2020s. They have assembled a quality offensive line and found a promising play-caller in Ben Johnson, who moved off the HC carousel this offseason. Goff on a new contract would change the equation, though an extension would lower his cap number from $31.9MM 2024 place.

Although Goff has performed well on the heels of his bounce-back 2022 — a season that featured the eighth-year passer rank fifth in QBR (a career-high placement) — the Lions may still want to see more from him. Of course, the better Goff plays this year, the more he will be able to command on his next deal. Through three games, Detroit’s starter ranks fourth in QBR. Goff’s contract runs through the 2024 season, and the salary cap is expected to make another big jump next year. With the $50MM-per-year club being firmly established this offseason, the Lions may have a difficult negotiation coming.

Multiple execs told La Canfora they would shy away from authorizing a big-ticket Goff extension in line with the position’s current upper echelon, while another pegged Detroit’s QB as being worth at least a $45MM-per-year contract. While that would represent a sizable raise for Goff, the resurgent quarterback’s camp could also argue the cap growth and booming QB market would justify a payday north of $50MM AAV.

Goff, Stafford and a 2000 Charlie Batch one-off are the only Lions QBs to complete a winning season over the past 25 years. A Detroit NFC North title, or even a wild-card berth two years after a 3-13-1 season, would only boost Goff’s value, and he will likely have this season to convince Lions brass he is worth a megadeal. It is unknown if the sides will get serious about a negotiation during the season, but of the 15 QB contracts that have since topped Goff’s, none of them were signed in-season.

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